ESPN NBA Basketball

"Realism at its best"

The sweat on your brow. The sneakers squeaking as players frantically switch from offense to defense. The whole stadium exploding as a ball thrown with precision aim hits its target with but a tickle of the twine. And the tension... so thick that a knife won't even begin to penetrate its surface. This is true realism at its finest. This is ESPN NBA Basketball. You're not ready.

ESPN NBA Basketball (formerly the NBA2k series), though widely regarded as the best Basketball Simulation on the market for quite some time, still was second to the flashy and intense NBA Live series. But after playing this new installment in the series, one must say that this game may be able to do the previously impossible... to change the hearts of diehard fans and take its rightful place at the top of the Basketball gaming world. That is, of course, if the fans can overlook some of its minor flaws.

This game is as real as it gets when it comes to graphics and gameplay. It seems like "detail" was the name of the game here. Gone is the previous...well, "fake" look to players, caused from very few textures on the skins. Now, in addition to adding more depth to the textures, the game boasts even more authentic player likenesses than before, including small details like tattoos and bands. And the uniforms (including the unlockable "retro" ones) are, to my knowledge, exactly the same. But the detail goes beyond the players. Of course, the basketball fans want authentic courts and stadiums, and they got their wish. I could go on and on about each and every detail the game makers added, but that would easily take up about two more paragraphs.

One thing I didn't like, however, were some of the animations. It gives you a sort of bittersweet taste, to be honest. On one hand, they have the beautiful shooting and posting up animations- and on the other, they have the... well, just plain bad and embarrassing looking running animations. And I can actually count the polygons and frames of the poorly-animated players sitting on the benches... I don't like that. Of course, looking at another point of view, you could be glad that they incorporated players on the benches into the game... your wish.

The gameplay is nearly untouchable. Almost never has a basketball game came around that has anything just as realistic as this game's gameplay. Offense is exciting and unpredictable, and the game does really well to reproduce the quick game tempo of a real NBA game. Unlike last year, fast-breaks are now possible to set up and execute, and the preset plays work, which is more I can say for the majority of Basketball games. If you call Isolation on the wing, your chances of scoring will increase (with a good ball-handler that is), and you can score dozens of extra points by posting up a Big Man like Shaq in the paint. New this year is “Iso-motion,” the series' response to Live's freestyle stick. With the right analog stick, you'll be able to pull off a variety of crossovers and drives to the basket. While the feature is great for manual fakes, it's a bit more harmful than helpful. Trust me, when you get your third offensive foul from barreling the wrong way and hitting your defender, you'll tire of this feature easily.

But real B-Ball fans know that D is where it's at. Defense. And ESPN has refined defense to an art form. You have your basic defensive sets, including Zone defense- but the game has now improved on the defense itself. As if you didn't know, the vast majority of basketball games rely on what I like to call the “magical shield.” Basically, with the “shield,” if the defender is in front of you, there is no possible way to pass him; the shield around the defender will not allow you to go forward. This makes Defense much less challenging (and realistic) than it really is. ESPN gets rid of this primitive way of defense, and replaces it with... well, real defense. Now, to keep men from driving, you have to actually stop them. This seemingly would lead to easier scoring... without the defensive options that this game gives you. Playing smart defense is now rewarded. It's possible to jump back and cut men off, and even draw a charge. Make them think twice about coming past you, eh? Basically, playing smart Defense- (i.e. cutting off passing lanes, double-teaming at the right times) is the only way you're going to stop players from scoring, not by relying on a shield. Just like real life, actually.

Also new this year is the new “24/7” mode. It appeals to the natural gamer's desire to take a small weakling and “level him up,” (in this case, into an NBA superstar) with the added bonus of keeping track of the real world's time. Two words: don't bother. It was a freakin' PAIN to get my player's free-throw stat up by ONE POINT, and be prepared to lose dozens of games/challenges for one reason: your player stinks. Oh, and I forgot one thing: don't play for about, oh, two or three days, and your player's skills deteriorate! Have fun getting them back! Just avoid this feature and it will spare you some pain. But even with it, still superb gameplay.

All right, the game's got the realistic graphics and gameplay, and the realistic sound and atmosphere can only help it. If you want proof about how good this game sounds, go bounce a basketball. Really, go. Yep, right now, and on a wooden court. Now, listen to the bounce of the basketball... in the game. I will assure you, it will sound EXACTLY THE SAME. No lies. Needless to say, the sound of everything else sounds just as good... save for the players' voices. It might just be me, but I don't think that a 19-year-old 5'5” kid should sound the same as 39-year-old 7'7” man.

But what really puts this game over the top is the way the game conveys the atmosphere of an NBA game. Seldom does the crowd get softer than a mere shouting level, even when the home team is losing. When a close game gets down to the last 2 minutes, you'll start to feel your palms sweating along with the players' sweating. By now, the crowd should have exceeded rocket launch sound level, and they'll go crazy with every little lay-up or defensive stop. Manage to force a 3-on-1 fast break? You'd better turn the sound down before it wakes up the neighbors. I found that sometimes I actually had to pause the game a bit during the last minutes of close contests. Simply put- THIS IS INTENSE. Oh, wait; this is just an exhibition game! Did I mention what it's like in the NBA Finals?

When it's all said and done, ESPN NBA Basketball is at the true pinnacle of its genre. Basketball game makers would be wise to follow the example of this game. But that's not to say they could top this masterpiece. The only thing that could top this- is a sequel.

Pros:
+Real-looking players
+Attention to Detail
+Defense!
+ATMOSPHERE!

Cons:

-Some bad-looking animations
-24/7 mode
-Shaky Iso-Motion system

Overall: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/17/04